Новости за 15.05.2024

Because the price control system was incomplete in that it didn’t cover every part of the U.S. oil market, the price controls were rarely binding. When they were, in the winter of 1972–1973, winter of 1973–1974, and early 1979, shortages occurred. During the rest of the 10 years, the price controls and entitlements program mainly acted like a tax and transfer system. Economist Joseph Kalt found that from 1974 to 1980, federal oil price controls (primarily through the old oil entitlements program)... Читать дальше...

I live in Alabama, where college football is the major religion. The two major denominations are the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn University Tigers. They have fought a storied and ludicrously overwrought rivalry since 1893, except for the four-decade gap between 1907 and 1948 when they didn’t play one another because the two schools hated each other so much. Suffice it so say Alabama fans (like me) don’t go out of their way to shop for Auburn merchandise and vice versa.

Another day, another labor market intervention! 

Recently, the Biden administration has announced new rules regarding overtime pay and salaried employees. Generally, salaried employees are paid a flat rate, not paid by the hour, and as such don’t get traditional overtime pay. But legislators have decided that lower-paid salaried workers should also get overtime pay. This itself isn’t new – what is new is that the Biden administration is increasing the salary cap for this rule to apply. According to the Labor Department... Читать дальше...

Co-blogger David Henderson usefully mentioned the publication of an interesting book edited by Ryan Bourne, The War on Prices. The authors, of which I am honored to be part, also include  Brian Albrecht, Pedro Aldighieri, Nicholas Anthony, David Beckworth, Ryan Bourne, Eamonn Butler, Vanessa Brown Calder, Michael Cannon, Jeffrey Clemens, Bryan Cutsinger, Alex Edmans, Peter Jaworski, Deirdre McCloskey, Jeffrey Miron, Liya Palagashvili, Joseph Sabia, J. R. Shackleton, Peter Van Doren, and Stan Veuger. Читать дальше...